Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Shares Acquired by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 92.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 215,122 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 103,129 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $5,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 104.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,793,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,776,000 after buying an additional 914,820 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 11.9% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 842,094 shares of the company's stock worth $22,459,000 after acquiring an additional 89,445 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 42.1% in the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,821 shares of the company's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 3,207 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 269.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 207,417 shares of the company's stock worth $5,532,000 after acquiring an additional 151,209 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 560.1% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,042,766 shares of the company's stock worth $54,480,000 after acquiring an additional 1,733,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.58.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of CAG traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $19.77. The company had a trading volume of 4,786,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,177,018. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.26, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.11. Conagra Brands has a 12-month low of $18.67 and a 12-month high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.05). Conagra Brands had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business had revenue of $2,781,800 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Conagra Brands's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.08%. Conagra Brands's payout ratio is currently 58.58%.

Conagra Brands Profile

Conagra Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer packaged goods food company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, and Foodservice segments. The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf stable food products through various retail channels.